Antarctic weather in photos

Rare vertically developed clouds over sea ice in McMurdo Sound, in the Ross Sea. Photo by Ann Posegate, courtesy of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

In January, I had a great opportunity to travel to Antarctica with the National Science Foundation (see previous posts on my trip). Of course, in a place like that, the weather is always on one's mind. Photos may not do the scenery justice, but in this case, they speak louder than words.

Keep reading for more photos from Antarctica...

A U.S. Antarctic Program participant takes a photo of a sun dog at the South Pole. Photo by Ann Posegate, courtesy of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

The contrail shadow of the military jet on which we were flying, projected onto the Antarctic ice sheet below. Photo by Ann Posegate, courtesy of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

A deep blue "water sky" indicates open water in the distance. Photo by Ann Posegate, courtesy of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

Mt. Erebus, the southernmost active volcano in the world. Photo by Ann Posegate, courtesy of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

The cloud ceiling lowers at the South Pole, producing freezing fog. Photo by Ann Posegate, courtesy of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

Three new wind turbines provide energy to New Zealand's Scott Base and the American McMurdo Station on Ross Island. Photo by Ann Posegate, courtesy of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

A glacier ending in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region, an Antarctic Specially Managed Area and part of the two percent of the continent that is not covered by ice. Photo by Ann Posegate, courtesy of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

A windy day outside of the National Science Foundation chalet at McMurdo Station. Photo by Ann Posegate, courtesy of the National Environmental Education Foundation.

Thanks! Even with my beginner photography skills, it was nearly impossible to take a bad photo in Antarctica.

Correction: the third photo down, "cumulus cloud shadows," showed a weather image from New Zealand (our departure point) when the images were posted earlier this afternoon. It has been replaced with the correct photo from Antarctica.

My husband and I went to Antarctica for our honeymoon in January 2008. It's difficult to put into words the sheer scale of the continent. The pictures don't need retouching--it really does look like that--but you lose the scale. It's the most alien place I am likely to visit, in addition to being one of the most beautiful.

celestun100, Antarctic sea ice (frozen seawater on the ocean's surface) constantly changes depending on winds, temperature and season. Some areas form a sheet of ice, while others are fragmented. On a large scale, Antarctica undergoes one of the most dramatic seasonal changes on Earth when sea ice doubles its size every winter (here's a great satellite image that shows the change). The Antarctic has not lost as much sea ice as the Arctic, but some rapid changes in sea ice extent have taken place in parts of the coast that are warming, such as around the Antarctic peninsula. Read more about Antarctic sea ice.